Dear Brother and Sister in Christ,
It amazes me how long it took me to realize what the mission was that the Father had given His Son to accomplish in the world. I think I had always focused on His death (for our sins). I may have realized the importance of the resurrection as well, but I learned early on that was the work of the Father (to raise Jesus). So I would blithely use the phrase, Jesus came to die for the sins of the world. Perhaps it was based on John 3:16, that God’s love for the world was expressed in the willingness of His Son to die (when He had legions of angels at his beck and call who could have prevented it). I suppose we might also mention that Jesus, Who cast out demons and stilled storms and raised the dead (even one dead four days), could have protected and defended Himself from attacks.
But that does not consider the mission Jesus was on, only the tool He used to accomplish the mission. I found it, many years ago, the text that clarifies the mission and presents it in such a way that it is easily missed. Yet it is the center of the work of Christ. I’m talking about Ephesians 1:9-10. “For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” I’m not saying, by any means, the death and resurrection of Jesus are not crucial and essential. But they are crucial for Jesus to accomplish His mission.
That gives context to Jesus’ conversation (prayer) with the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. If we don’t consider His real mission and consider His dying and rising the mission, then it would sound like Jesus didn’t want the mission the Father had given Him. He asked that the cup be taken from Him. Matthew 26:39 records it this way; “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” So, is Jesus “at odds” with the Father, not wanting to accomplish the mission of dying? NO! Jesus was asking if there was another way (other than death) to accomplish the mission of uniting all people to the Father and one another.
Because of sin, we cannot come to the Father. But, through Jesus, we are brought to the Father with a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. It is better (perfect) because it is the righteousness of the sinless Son who gives it to those who come to Him. He gives His grace to us and we are able to come to the Father now in prayer and, in the last day, to live with Him forever! That union with the Father was the mission given to Jesus, accomplished by His death and resurrection and affirmed by the Father as He raised Him from the dead!
So, you may be wondering, what does this have to do with the practical issues of life in this world. Well that has to do with the other aspect and effect of Jesus work against sin. Not only does His grace bring us to the Father but it joins us to other sinners. His grace is sufficient for all we need in this life. As I’ve mentioned in previous postings, relationships are a crucial part of the life of the church and its growth. If people who come to church and even join, do not have a number of relationships with other disciples by the end of 6 months, it will be likely they are gone in a year. What our society provides less and less of (as it provides more and more electronic social media) is full and rich relationships.
And relationships are based on familiarity and care for one another. That takes time as we develop friendships with others at school, at work and at church. When we consider church life, it is clear that developing relationships is not easy or automatic. We need to be intentional about developing them. I don’t know about your church liturgy (worship service), but our Lutheran one doesn’t allow much in the way of connecting with the person next to you in the pew. Most of the “conversation” is front to back and up and down (to and from the worship leaders and to and from God). So, with just one formal time to turn to our neighbors (in the sharing of the peace), I’ve added to the liturgy a time of greeting before worship begins (so my regular invitation to worshipers is that they “Introduce yourself to those around you that you don’t know, and hug those you do.”
But that clearly is not enough, greeting a person for a few minutes out of a 168 hour week (even if we sit in the same seat each week and greet the same person). What do we do about the challenge in developing relationships? We have small group events in the life of the church. The first, following worship, is fellowship time. We paid extra for round tables (instead of long ones) because they allow conversation with all at the table. We encourage every worshiper to go to fellowship each week and check up on one another and get to know one another (develop relationships). That can lead to other meetings of people during the week (away from church at restaurants or parks or movies or homes. We encourage people to introduce the person they are getting to know to other people they already know. The small group can form because disciples of Christ are well versed in caring for one another.
It is God’s grace that saved us and brought us together and sustains us in relationship with God and one another. I hope you will invite others to the fellowship, study and/or service groups you attend.
In His service,
Pastor Johnson